Lakers Ride Luke Kennard’s Perfect Long-Range Shooting to Game 1 Win Over Rockets
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April 18, 2026 — Playing without injured starters Luka Doncic and Austin Reaves, the Los Angeles Lakers leaned on Luke Kennard and Deandre Ayton to open the postseason, defeating the Houston Rockets 107-98 in Game 1 of the Western Conference first round at Crypto.com Arena.
Kennard paced Los Angeles with 27 points, hitting 9 of 13 shots and a flawless 5 of 5 from beyond the arc. After the buzzer, Ayton summed up the guard’s effort with a single word: “speechless.” “He’s the number one shooter in the NBA, so there’s not much to say,” the center added. “Shooting 5-for-5 in a playoff game as a Laker, it hits different.”
The 27-point outburst marked Kennard’s playoff career high and etched his name in Lakers history as the first player to go perfect from three on at least five attempts in a postseason game.
Ayton contributed 19 points and 11 rebounds, finishing as the Lakers’ second-leading scorer. Los Angeles, holding home-court advantage despite its depleted roster, carried a 14-point halftime lead and never trailed in the fourth quarter.
“We did what we were supposed to do,” Ayton said of protecting home court in the opening contest. The Lakers, considered underdogs in the series because of multiple injuries, will host Game 2 before the best-of-seven shifts to Houston.
Source: Lakers Nation
